The idea for this dish came after watching Masterchef Australia, where I saw Ben making the Paris mash for his dish in the Guillaume at Bennelong challenge. Surprisingly, I’ve never made mash before, not having any sort of masher, and I figured that it was about time that I invest in one! When planning the dish, I thought about using a chicken fillet, but thought I’d up the stakes and also try my hand at something else I’ve been wanting to try: duck.

The full flavour combination is completely the work of yours truly. I have however, taken ideas from a couple of recipes. I was inspired by the fruity Cranberry roast duck by Valli Little, and the Paris Mash recipe is from Gourmet Traveller. The flavours were absolutely amazing, although improvements would have been to boil the potatoes for longer (I wasn’t sure how cooked the potatoes had to be, considering I had to peel them while hot. They were under, which made my mash a bit lumpy), and to render the fat from the duck skin a little more. However, the duck was tender, juicy and perfectly cooked, so I knew my timing had been right.

I made the sauce and the candied hazelnuts the night before, just to make things easier. This recipe serves three people.

For your Honey Orange sauce, you need:

One orange, juiced;

One tablespoon of honey.

Combine the two in a saucepan over low heat and simmer until reduced by half. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

For your Candied Hazelnuts, you need:

30g hazelnut kernels;

One teaspoon honey.

Toast the hazelnut kernels in a dry frying pan until golden, then remove from the heat. Rub in a paper towel to remove as much of the skins as possible.

Combine in a bowl with the teaspoon of honey, coating evenly, then return to the heat. Stir nuts often so that they don’t burn, until golden. Set aside, preferably apart on a sheet of baking paper, so they don’t stick together.

To make your Paris Mash, you will need:

1/2 kilo Desiree potatoes, washed and unpeeled;

1/4C milk;

100ml pouring cream;

75g butter, chopped, at room temperature.

Cook the potatoes in salted water until tender.

Using a tea towel to hold the potatoes, peel while warm, then pass in batches through a potato ricer into a saucepan.

Place the milk and cream in a saucepan and bring almost to the boil, then remove from heat.

Stir the potato over low heat, for one minute. Add the cream mixture and butter, in batches, beating with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Season to taste with sea salt and white pepper.

Now for your duck!

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Score the duck skin on the diagonal with a sharp knife before heating a non-stick frypan with a little oil over a high heat. Add the duck fillets, skin side down, and cook for five to six minutes until the skin is golden and fat is rendered.

Turn over and cook for a further minute. Using a heat-proof pastry brush, brush your Honey Orange sauce generously over the skin of the two fillets. Transfer the frypan to the oven and roast for five minutes. When removing from the oven, season with salt and pepper. Rest for a further five minutes before slicing along the scored lines.

Serve slices of the duck with the Paris Mash, candied hazelnuts, baby salad leaves and cubes of orange if desired. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the duck slices.

Honey Duck a l’Orange! This dish went down a treat with the mother and the sister, both of whom are duck fanatics.

By boiling them with the skins on, the potatoes absorb less moisture, absorb more of the butter, making the mash fluffier. Unfortunately that wasn’t quite the case with mine, as I undercooked my potatoes!

Welcome!

I'm Cath at Confessions of a Glutton. I'm a cheesecake-devouring, sushi-craving, ramen-obsessed, salted-caramel-lover who is also a dance fitness instructor and a solicitor, living in the Northern Suburbs of the glorious city that is Sydney, Australia. These are my ramblings.